A blog about afternoon tea and cake

King's College London History Graduate. Food enthusiast, cake addict and baking amateur (make that very amateur)! Aside from history and food, my main interests include books, cars, comedy, horse riding, rabbits, pugs, travelling, fashion, and basically anything covered in glitter.

Follow Blog via Email

Black Cherry Jam

Black Forest vs. Hummingbird

Cupcake

Every month the Hummingbird Bakery, which is one of my favourite cupcake shops EVER, creates two new, special edition cupcakes. Every month, these cupcakes go head-to-head, battling it out for the number one spot.

July 2014 has seen the rivalry of two delicious cupcakes: Black Forest vs. Hummingbird. One is a rich chocolate sponge, filled with a beautiful black cherry jam, and topped with a creamy custard frosting; the other is a banana and pineapple explosion with a thick cream cheese frosting. But which cupcake deserves the number one title this month?

Black Forest Cupcake

This delicious black forest cupcake is absolutely delightful. Its chocolate sponge is beautifully rich and moist, and is made even more luxurious by the sweet addition of the black cherry jam that oozes out of the middle. The surprise centre is absolutely wonderful, although the black cherry flavour blends into the chocolate sponge so well that there is little noticeable contrast in flavour. This decadent black forest cupcake is topped with a creamy custard frosting, another dollop of black cherry jam, and luxurious chocolate shavings. The frosting was lovely, although the generous helping seemed to detract from the overall chocolate and black cherry taste, which personally was my favourite part. Nevertheless, this is not a cupcake that I would readily turn down if someone was offering me a delicious cupcake twist on the classic Black Forest Gateux.

Hummingbird Cupcake

The hummingbird cupcake is based on Southern hummingbird cake and is an absolutely sublime tropical treat. Its beautifully moist sponge is packed with bananas, pineapple, and handfuls of crunchy pecans, giving it a slightly different texture to most cupcakes. Its flavours are perfectly combined to provide the most delicious sponge I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. I just could not get enough of this cake! And a surprise chunk of banana in the middle was a great addition. The cream cheese frosting, covered in cinnamon and crushed pecans, also complimented the sponge beautifully. This cupcake could just not put a foot wrong. Whichever Hummingbird book has this recipe in it, someone needs to get it for me, I cannot live without it!

My undying love for this incredible cupcake makes the delicious Hummingbird Special Edition Cupcake July’s Bake-Off winner without a doubt. I just cannot wait to get my hands on this wonderful recipe and fill my house with these fabulous fruity treats!

King's College London History Graduate. Food enthusiast, cake addict and baking amateur (make that very amateur)! Aside from history and food, my main interests include books, cars, comedy, horse riding, rabbits, pugs, travelling, fashion, and basically anything covered in glitter.